Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 169 The Hell of Tongue-Pulling. (Second Update!)

As the chilling spiritual energy of heaven and earth gradually entered his body, Zheng Que closed his eyes slightly, and his body temperature slowly decreased.

As the white mist in his dantian gradually thickened, he sensed something, opened his eyes, and saw the dilapidated Guangdian Palace.

Upon entering the underworld space, Zheng Que immediately looked at the Book of Life and Death in front of him.

The first page of the Book of Life and Death now has only one more name.

"...Bao Huijia. Place of origin: Suburbs of Taiping County, Tuzhou Prefecture, Dali Dynasty. Lifespan..."

Zheng Que knew in his heart that this name belonged to the ghost that Ku Lan had killed today.

However, with Ku Lan frequently slaying ghosts these days, the number of ghosts near Shujiabao has been decreasing.

Now, only this one name has appeared in the Book of Life and Death, most likely because Ku Lan only sensed this one ghost in the vicinity...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que was about to recite Ku Lan's name and summon her to the underworld, just as he had done a few days ago. However, at that moment, he suddenly discovered that the first page of the Book of Life and Death had changed!

Originally, this booklet, with only nine pages remaining, consisted of yellowed paper that looked like ordinary, old paper that had lost its original snow-white color.

But at this moment, the first page turned into a faint crimson, and the background was covered with intricate, shadowy patterns. The patterns, intermittent and blurry, outlined an ancient and simple pattern: it seemed to be several strange figures pressing down on one of the figures, doing something. The figure that was being pressed down was waving its arms and legs, as if it was struggling desperately.

The pattern looks like it has been repeatedly worn down, and the details are not very clear, but the tension in the limbs and muscles shows the intensity of the scene. It looks lifelike, like a three-dimensional sculpture.

In the middle of the entire pattern, there is a straight vertical line that divides it in two.

Zheng Que subconsciously reached out to touch it, but the texture was exactly the same as before, seemingly still just ordinary paper. After a moment's hesitation, he didn't waste any more time and directly addressed the Book of Life and Death, saying, "Withered Orchid."

The next moment, mist rose as usual from below the hall, and when it parted, the figure of a withered orchid appeared.

Ku Lan glanced around, then immediately knelt down and respectfully bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Zheng Que didn't waste any time and directly followed the procedure to enhance the Yin energy.

Perhaps because Ku Lan had killed too few ghosts this time, only a gust of yin wind rose below the hall. Before long, the yin energy on Ku Lan's body subsided, increasing only slightly.

The aura of this "evil spirit" is still that of the seventh level of the [Tongue-Pulling Hell].

Upon seeing this, Zheng Que ordered, "Step back."

The fog rose again, and when it dissipated, the withered orchids vanished without a trace.

After finishing his business, Zheng Que sat on the limping armchair and waited quietly.

As time passed, the pattern on the first page of the Book of Life and Death became clearer and clearer.

Gradually, Zheng Que saw that the pattern was actually several blurry ghosts pressing down on a human figure, prying open its mouth, and using iron pliers to pull out its tongue!
At the same moment, a series of records suddenly appeared on the Book of Life and Death.

"...Xiao Bingyi. Place of origin: Yongwang City, Liangzhou, Dali Dynasty. Lifespan..."

"...Du Zhebing..."

“...Lu Rending..."

The names cascaded down like a waterfall, adding up to a large number in the blink of an eye.

Zheng Que suddenly felt something was strange. Were all these newly added names ghosts that Ku Lan had killed?
The other side should have mostly cleared out the ghosts around Shujiabao by now...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que stared intently at the pattern on the background of the first page, and reached out again to touch the vertical line.

This time, his fingertips immediately felt the uneven texture, and the intricate patterns on both sides of the vertical lines were extremely three-dimensional, like a finely engraved piece of metal. However, from the side, the entire first page was still a thin sheet, no different from ordinary paper.

He suddenly realized that these weren't vertical lines, but... a crack in the door!
Yes, the first page of the Book of Life and Death has become like a tightly closed door!

Zheng Que suddenly realized something and looked up at the people below.

Beneath the red steps, the once dilapidated and spacious palace had somehow transformed into a deep and boundless darkness.

In the depths of darkness, nine portals emerged, gleaming faintly.

These nine portals spiraled downwards, seemingly connected by a spiral staircase, disappearing into a bottomless abyss.

Eight of the gates were as blurry as the moon's reflection in water or a flower in mist, as if they might disappear at any moment. Only the topmost gate maintained a relatively clear outline.

On this doorway, a very familiar pattern was clearly carved: several ghosts of different shapes were pressing down on a figure struggling desperately, some prying open the mouth, others pulling out the tongue... The whole picture was not detailed, just a few strokes, but it vividly depicted the intense atmosphere of execution, cold, cruel, and bloody.

Especially the figure being tortured, whose intense struggle and extreme pain seemed to leap off the screen.

This scene is exactly the same as the first page of the Book of Life and Death!
Zheng Que stared at this scene, slightly taken aback, and immediately realized that the appearance of these nine portals was related to the changes on the first page of the Book of Life and Death.

After a moment's thought, he immediately stood up, stepped down from the steps, and walked towards the clearest door.

Tap...tap...tap...

In the dilapidated palace, Zheng Que's footsteps echoed far and wide.

He quickly walked to the doorway, slowly raised his head, and carefully examined it.

The gate was extremely tall and majestic, with ancient and rugged patterns carved on it, full of a sense of vicissitude. Zheng Que, standing in front of the gate, appeared extremely small in comparison.

Like an ant, looking up at the mountain.

The ghostly figures on the door had ferocious faces, exuding a menacing aura. The human figures were also remarkably lifelike, filled with despair, fear, and regret...

Zheng Que was completely unaffected. He reached out and pressed down on the door, and with just a little force, the seemingly tall and heavy door immediately pushed open, revealing the scene outside.

This crimson world, with its blood-red dome, was dimly lit and devoid of any stars. Scattered on the dark red ground were various instruments of torture, especially large and small iron clamps, all rusted and covered with a thick layer of dust.

Not far away, a stone mountain stood out prominently.

At the foot of the rocky mountain, a door opened. The original three characters "Shu Family Fort" on it had the first character "Shu" crossed out with a bloody cross and replaced with a crooked "Luo".

This is...Shujiabao?

Zheng Que's eyes widened instantly. Before he could think any further, the last wisp of black energy between his brows was absorbed by the Book of Life and Death, and a freshly issued edict entered his brow.

In the blink of an eye, everything around him trembled and collapsed, and he was back in reality.

Zheng Que suddenly stood up, only to find that he had not returned to the bedroom furnished with the bridal chamber. The brightly lit and decorated bed with its red embroidered mandarin ducks playing in the water, the silk quilt, the porcelain pillow with intertwined branches, the blood-red wedding candles... were all gone. All he could see was a barren, rocky beach and several dark pits of varying sizes. He sat alone on this unfamiliar land, surrounded by barren land and desolation, with the distant sound of rushing river.

Looking around, Zheng Que was stunned. Where was he?
Wasn't I currently cultivating at Shujiabao?

How did I suddenly end up in such an unfamiliar place?

Zheng Que was puzzled. Just then, a figure dressed in a phoenix coronet and wedding robes suddenly rushed in front of him.

The newcomer wore a blood-red veil, and jade bracelets adorned her snow-white wrists beneath her wide sleeves; she was none other than the ghost bride.

The ghost bride seemed extremely agitated at the moment. As soon as she appeared in front of Zheng Que, she grabbed his collar and asked hysterically, "You! Have you seen my dowry?!"

"Say!"

"Say it!"

"Where did my dowry go?!"

As she spoke, the ghost bride's body surged and churned with yin energy, like dark clouds surging and overflowing with malevolence, clearly indicating that her emotions were very unstable.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que snapped out of his daze and quickly replied, "No!"

"I was cultivating just now, I don't know anything!"

Bang!
The ghost bride threw Zheng Que to the ground and moved with lightning speed, darting back and forth across the wasteland, occasionally lifting up broken tiles and stones as she searched for something.

Seeing this, Zheng Que frowned. Had the ghost bride's dowry been stolen?

The Ghost Bride is a ghost from the later stages of the "Scissors Prison". Who is she and how does she have such abilities?
wrong……

The ghost bride's dowry is all in Shujiabao. What is the other party looking for in this unfamiliar place?
Thinking this, Zheng Que suddenly saw a riverbank in the distance, built of reddish-brown boulders, with flowing water. It looked very familiar, much like the place where the flying boat landed when he came to Shujiabao.

He was slightly taken aback and slowly looked around. This seemed to be the original location of Shu Family Fortress!
The current situation isn't that he's found himself in an unfamiliar place, but that the entire Shu Family Fortress has vanished?

(End of this chapter)